Room for Women: An Atlas of Feminist Housing Projects from the 1980s

While much attention has been given to the feminist theory produced in the 1970s, its influence on the architectural debate and projects is less well known. In her essay, Camyl Vigneault examines nine architectural projects designed and built by women between the late 1970s and early 1990s. These projects—located in Sweden, Italy, Germany, the USA, and Canada—are all highly diverse yet all share a radical questioning and rethinking of Western domestic paradigms. Through a close-reading of this ‘atlas’ of housing projects, the essay argues that the 1980s marked a significant moment in feminist history, when political issues debated were first addressed architecturally through projects that sought to challenge and reimagine the design of the home.